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An act to amend the highway law, in relation to enabling safe access to public roads for all users by utilizing complete street design principles

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To design more complete streets that enable safe access for all users: bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and passengers, motorists, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

This legislation requires bicycle and pedestrian ways be included in the planning and development of state, county, and local transportation facilities, plans, and programs as appropriate. All transportation improvements shall improve safety, access, and mobility for all travelers in New York, regardless of age or ability, and shall recognize bicycle, pedestrian, and transit modes as integral to the transportation system.

In addition, bicycle and pedestrian ways shall be established in conjunction with the construction, reconstruction, or other changes of applicable state, county, or local transportation facility. Accommodations will include, but not be limited to, bicycle lanes, lane striping, paved shoulders suitable for use by bicyclists, share the road signage, crosswalks, pedestrian control signals, curb cuts and ramps.

The legislation also requires a best practice report to be published by the Department of Transportation no later than two years after the bill becomes law showing how transportation agencies have evaluated and changed their procedures to routinely design safe, effective multi-modal facilities for travelers of all ages and abilities.

JUSTIFICATION:

The streets of our cities and towns are an important part of the livability of our communities. Our streets should be designed for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, or bus rider. Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Complete streets policies direct transportation planners and engineers to consistently design with all users in mind.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2007, a pedestrian was hit by a motorist and killed every 113 minutes (about every two hours) - a total of 4,654 fatalities nationwide. Forty percent of these fatalities were people 50 years of age and older. In addition, NHTSA found that a pedestrian is injured by motorists every 8 minutes with over 70,000 pedestrians injured in 2007.

A new poll released by AARP in 2008 found that while many people age 50 plus are trying to move away from car transportation as a result of high gas prices, almost half (47%) of poll responders say they cannot cross the main roads safely.

A Federal Highways Administration safety review found that streets designed with sidewalks, raised medians, better bus stop placement, traffic-calming measures, and treatments for disabled travelers improve pedestrian safety, Some features, such as medians, improve safety for all Users, they enable pedestrians to cross busy roads in two stages, reduce left-turning motorist crashes to zero, and improve bicycle safety. The National Institutes of Medicine recommends fighting childhood obesity by establishing ordinances to encourage construction of sidewalks, bikeways, and other places for physical activity. One study found that 43, of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended activity levels; among individuals without safe place to walk, just 27% were active enough.

The potential to reduce carbon emissions by shifting trips to lower-carbon modes is undeniable. The 2001 National Household Transportation Survey found 50% of all trips in metropolitan areas are three miles or less and 28% of all metropolitan trips are one mile or less - distances easy to walk, bike, or hop a bus or train. Yet 65% of the shortest trips are now made by automobile, in part because of incomplete streets that make it dangerous or unpleasant for other modes of travel. Complete streets would help Convert many of these short automobile trips to multi-modal travel. Simply increasing bicycling from 1% to 1.5% of all trips in the U.S. would save 462 million gallons of gasoline each year.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2009-10 - S.5711B/A.8587B - Passed Senate

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect 180 days after it shall have become a law.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1332
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 6, 2011
___________

Introduced by Sens. DILAN, DIAZ, HASSELL-THOMPSON, PARKER -- read twice
and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the highway law, in relation to enabling safe access to
public roads for all users by utilizing complete street design princi-
ples
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 10 of the highway law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 47 to read as follows:
47. (A) PROVIDE FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF SAFE TRAVEL BY ALL USERS OF
THE ROAD NETWORK, INCLUDING MOTORISTS, PEDESTRIANS, BICYCLISTS, AND
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION USERS, REGARDLESS OF AGE OR ABILITY, THROUGH THE
USE OF COMPLETE STREET DESIGN FEATURES FOR SAFE TRAVEL IN THE PLANNING,
DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, AND REHABILITATION NOT INCLUDING
RESURFACING, MAINTENANCE OR PAVEMENT RECYCLING OF ALL STATE, COUNTY AND
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR BOTH FEDERAL AND
STATE FUNDING AND ARE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT.
(B) COMPLETE STREET DESIGN FEATURES THAT FACILITATE SAFE TRAVEL BY ALL
USERS MEANS A ROADWAY THAT EXPANDS UPON CURRENTLY ACCEPTED STATE AND
FEDERAL DESIGN REQUIREMENTS TO ACCOMMODATE ALL USERS, INCLUDING CURRENT
AND PROJECTED USERS, PARTICULARLY PEDESTRIANS, BICYCLISTS AND INDIVID-
UALS OF ALL AGES AND MOBILITY CAPABILITIES. THESE FEATURES SHALL
INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, SIDEWALKS, PAVED SHOULDERS SUITABLE FOR
USE BY BICYCLISTS, LANE STRIPING, BICYCLE LANES, SHARE THE ROAD SIGNAGE,
CROSSWALKS, PEDESTRIAN CONTROL SIGNALIZATION, BUS PULL OUTS, CURB CUTS,
RAISED CROSSWALKS AND RAMPS AND TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES.
(C) EXCEPTIONS TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE PERMISSI-
BLE ONLY AFTER THE COMMISSIONER AND AGENCY WITH JURISDICTION OVER THE
PROJECT, FULLY DEMONSTRATES, WITH SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION WHICH SHALL
BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, THAT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING EXISTS:

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03012-01-1

S. 1332 2

(I) USE BY BICYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS IS PROHIBITED BY LAW, SUCH AS
WITHIN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY CORRIDORS; OR
(II) THE COST WOULD BE DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE NEED AS DETERMINED BY
FACTORS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING: LAND USE CONTEXT;
CURRENT AND PROJECTED TRAFFIC VOLUMES INCLUDING NON-MOTORIZED TRAFFIC;
AND POPULATION DENSITY; OR
(III) DEMONSTRATED LACK OF NEED AS DETERMINED BY FACTORS, INCLUDING,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LAND USE, CURRENT AND PROJECTED TRAFFIC VOLUMES,
INCLUDING NON-MOTORIZED TRAFFIC, AND POPULATION DENSITY.
S 2. (a) No later than two years after the effective date of this act,
the department of transportation shall publish a report showing how
transportation agencies have complied with subdivision 47 of section 10
of the highway law and changed their procedures to institutionalize
complete streets design features into planning, project scooping, design
and implementation of highway and road projects. The report shall
include, but not be limited to a discussion of the review of and
revisions to various guidance documents regarding lane width, design
speed, average daily traffic thresholds, level of service and roadway
classification. The report shall also show any best practices that
transportation agencies utilized in complying with subdivision 47 of
section 10 of the highway law.
(b) In establishing such best practices, consideration shall be given
to the procedures for identifying the needs of the mix of users, includ-
ing primary and secondary users and the identification of barriers, and
summary of the documentation required by paragraph (c) of subdivision 47
of section 10 of the highway law regarding why transportation agencies
could not comply with paragraph (a) of subdivision 47 of section 10 of
the highway law. The department of transportation shall consult with
transportation, land-use and environmental officials, including repre-
sentatives from:
(i) Counties, cities and towns;
(ii) Metropolitan planning organizations;
(iii) Public transit operators;
(iv) Relevant state agencies; and
(v) Other relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, repre-
sentatives from disability rights groups, aging groups, bicycle and
pedestrian advocates, and developers.
S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law.

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